[A]t some point, there is going to be a deal on appropriations and raising the debt ceiling. There is a lot of pressure to raise defense spending. Some of these student loan items [like the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program] could wind up on the table in such a deal.

We’ve seen this pattern again and again: 1) create a scare about excessive “entitlement” spending, 2) spur either tax cuts for the rich or reallocation of “entitlement” money to the force or finance sectors, and 3) repeat once excess military spending once again drives budgetary imbalances. The PLSF is a low-cost program designed to promote provision of important services to the underserved. It’s amazing to think, of all the expenditure lines that could be attacked, this was the one chosen. But it is of a piece with larger social trends to shift money away from human services, and toward force and finance.Read More